Being tired in this back -to -school period is normal. But when does fatigue become pathological? Because a recurring weakness can actually be a chronic fatigue syndrome, or myalgic encephalomyelitis, which is currently difficult to diagnose objectively. Pathology would still concern 17 million people around the world.
An exact diagnosis in 91 % of cases
For this study, researcher Jiabao Xu and his colleagues carried out a series of blood tests, on a cohort of 98 volunteers.
In this group, 61 people were affected by this chronic fatigue syndrome, 21 suffered from multiple sclerosis (an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system) and 16 were not carrying any pathology.
According to scientists, the blood test they have developed makes it possible to identify “Mononuclear cells of peripheral blood“, which only have a single nucleus. These cells would allow a lower energy intake and therefore explain the alteration of the tone of these patients. At this preliminary stage of the study, the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome was 91 %exact. In addition, according to the authors of this work, the analyzes carried out made it possible to determine the degree of degradation of cells, and therefore to distinguish the mild, moderate or serious forms from the disease up to 84 %.
A major advance for patients
Developing a reliable test of chronic fatigue syndrome would be an important advance. “”Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disabling pathology, recognized by the World Health Organization, but difficult to diagnose“Explains Dr. Gérald Kierzek, emergency doctor and medical director of True Medical.”There are no objective criteria to make a diagnosis, it is rather the feeling of the pain and the patient’s interrogation which will evoke this syndrome. “
For the doctor, “If the search allows to uncover a reliable test, capable of objectifying the presence of the disease, it will be a significant advance, for the patients“. And for researchers, it could”Facilitate the development and evaluation of new treatments, as well as better understanding of the evolution of the disease “.